Silent Fantasies
by Jedi-lover
Summary: Sparks of erotic desire ignite during an undercover mission.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Silent Fantasies

**Author**: Jedi_Lover

**Rating**: PG13

**Characters**: Luke Skywalker, Mara Jade

**Genre**: Adult themes, sexual innuendos

**Summary**: Sparks of erotic desire ignite during an undercover mission.

**Author Note: Jedi_Trace and I wrote this story years ago and posted it on another website. It was an NC-17 story. I have rewritten it and toned it down so it can be posted here.**

* * *

As Luke entered the dark nightclub, the smell of spice, booze and an underlying odor of unwashed humans and aliens alike immediately assaulted his senses. He forced back the urge to gag. Seeing as how he was disguised as a dangerous smuggler, it wouldn't look good if he started retching at a smell that was almost ubiquitous in the lower levels of Coruscant.

Luke stood at the doorway for a moment letting his eyes adjust to the low light of the establishment. As nightclubs went, this was definitely not the worst he had visited during this New Republic Intelligence mission. In fact, this one could almost be considered 'classy' by lower Coruscant standards.

This particular club was large. Not one of the many shoddy hole-in-the-wall taverns he had visited this week. It was as big as the main audience chamber at the Jedi Academy on Yavin IV, but that was where the similarities ended. At the center of the room was a large round stage where scantily clad females danced to the beat of provocative modern music. The stage was the only thing that was well lit in the area. Surrounding the stage, clustered against the walls, were dark alcoves especially designed for patron privacy. There, the high society customers could revel in the debauchery of the underworld while protecting their anonymity. Criminals could do any assortment of illegal activities with some semblance of privacy, all while having a perfect view of the dancers pirouetting and gyrating their hips on stage.

Luke moved down to find an unoccupied booth on the main floor. He glanced up at the Twi'lek currently dancing on stage. Her speckled blue lekku whipped around her head as she spun around a pole at the end of the dance area.

She smiled and blew Luke a kiss as he went by. He did his best impression of a leer and tried not to blush at her advances. He knew it was all business to these girls. Happy customers stayed longer, drank more and dumped more money into the pockets of the owners.

Luke wondered if he was expected to put a credit chip somewhere in the dancer's outfit as many of the strip clubs he'd frequented this week encouraged the men to do so.

'_No,'_ he thought as he saw the signs warning the patrons to stand clear of the stage. Luke was able to make out the occasional flicker of a protective particle shield around the border of the dance area.

'_Good,'_ Luke thought. The dancers would not only be protected from the unwelcome advances of drunken patrons, but from blaster shots also. Not that he expected any trouble tonight. He wasn't even sure if this was the right place.

Luke slipped into one of the darkened booths and ordered a drink from the holomenu on the table. As he waited for a service droid to deliver his drink, he pulled out a simulated-spice stick from his pocket and lit up. He hated smoking. Even if it wasn't real spice, the smoke burned his throat, stained his fingers and made his clothes and hair reek, but he had a part to play. Luke couldn't wait until he got back to his hotel room to shower and change after doing one of these reconnoiters for New Republic Intelligence.

Currently, he was looking for Black Sun operatives. NRI agents had intercepted a transmission that a major buy of illegal biological weapons was going to happen in the next month and that Black Sun was operating out of a night/strip/sex club somewhere in the lower levels of the planet.

Luke sighed. It was a big planet.

The informant was able to narrow the search down to a particular quadrant, but there had to be over fifty nightclubs in that area. So Luke and a few other Jedi were recruited to use their Force abilities to try to pinpoint where the Black Sun was setting up their base of operations.

The job was not too dangerous. It usually meant Luke would enter a club, sit back and use his Jedi abilities to reach out and try to sense any illegal or hostile intent in the audience. There was plenty to be found, just not the type he was looking for. Mainly, he found a simmering angst among many of the men in these establishments—men who Luke could only describe as having _relationship-issues._ They desired women but often they hated them at the same time, blaming women-kind for their loneliness and for not jumping at the chance to fulfill their lecherous sexual fantasies.

Luke tried to shake the thought from his head. He hated peering into the thoughts of these men, but that was what he was here for.

'_I was sent to be a Jedi voyeur,'_ Luke scoffed mentally.

But it was a job that had to be done. Somebody out there was trying to acquire a weapon that could kill millions and he needed to briefly touch the minds of these people in an effort to locate that person.

In the past, when Luke had the displeasure of doing this, he usually caught glimpses of the ordinary thoughts of others: people wondering if they turned off the food prep unit, arranging their shopping list, wondering what they should make for dinner. But here, the thoughts he was subjected to were often dark and bizarre and almost always carnal in nature. It made Luke extremely uncomfortable.

The music stopped and the blue Twi'lek gave a wave to the crowd as she moved to the back of the stage. The particle shield was temporarily suspended as she walked down the stairs and was immediately surrounded by two of the largest human bouncers he had ever seen. Another dancer made her way up the stage before the shield was reactivated and the music began to play for the new entertainer.

Luke was reaching out with the Force to the crowd and immediately felt a familiar presence. He glanced up and realized that Mara Jade was on the stage. Because of her experience as a dancer she had volunteered to gain undercover employment in the Coruscant club circuit. Mara was supposed to be working at another club down the street tonight. Luke remembered that the same sleazy Bothan owned both clubs, so he probably pulled Mara from that club to replace a dancer that didn't show up here.

'_This should be interesting,'_ Luke thought uneasily. He purposely avoided working the same clubs as Mara to prevent embarrassing her. The clothing she was forced to wear was revealing to the point of almost not being there at all. No, not much was left to the imagination.

Luke considered leaving, but thought he shouldn't call attention to himself. So he sat back and immersed himself with his mission. He reached out with the Force and tried to read the crowd.

The first thing he noticed was the men's attention was riveted to his friend on stage. Oh, they had looked and lusted over the blue Twi'lek earlier, but now all thoughts and eyes were on Mara Jade.

Luke risked a glance up to his friend. He could understand the men's interest. She was easily the most beautiful dancer he had seen in weeks. Her body was lean, athletic and with ample breasts. Her hair was long and wild and whipped around her body as she spun and whirled. Luke gasped as she finished a spin and then dropped down into a full split.

'_I didn't know she was that flexible!'_ he thought, thoroughly impressed.

Mara brought her hands down to the floor in front of her and slowly brought herself into a handstand. Her muscular backside was barely concealed by a red shimmersilk bikini bottom and Luke could see the ripple of her muscles tighten as she slowly lowered her legs to bring herself into a standing position.

Luke pulled his eyes off of Mara. He noticed his pulse had increased and beads of sweat were now forming on his forehead. The waiter droid finally arrived with his drink and he quickly gulped it down and ordered a second. He wasn't sure why after watching stripper after stripper all week that he was suddenly affected by Mara's performance.

Luke shook his head. Maybe by concentrating on his mission he could purge his mind of some very surprising and impure thoughts that were popping into his head.

He reached out with the Force and looked for any dangerous intent in the crowd.

He gasped as he caught the thoughts of one obese human businessman across the room. In his mind's eye, the businessman had his hands around Mara's neck and Luke could see the fear in her eyes. Luke thought he might have stumbled across his Black Sun target when suddenly the man's thoughts turned in a different direction. Before Luke could stop the images from assaulting his senses, he witnessed this man's twisted fantasy involving pain and domination of a sexual nature.

Luke pulled out of the man's mind quickly and shuddered, rubbing his hand over his eyes. He had been subjected to various sexual fantasies in the last few weeks. Even if he hadn't been trying to glimpse into these men's minds, he would have been hard pressed to keep the images out of his head. It was almost like they were mentally shouting at him.

Luke quickly composed himself and tried to concentrate on the next patron. He was a Rodian. Luke thought he would be safe from images of Mara being accosted as he took a peek at the alien's thoughts. After all, Rodians were not known to be attracted to humans.

Luke gasped as he became aware of his error. Once he glimpsed into the alien's mind, he was immediately assaulted by a vision of the reptilian grabbing a hold of Mara Jade...

Luke pulled out of the alien mind and realized that he was now sweating profusely. If it had been anybody but Mara, it wouldn't have bothered him as much, but this was his friend that these men wanted to degrade and kriff.

Apprehensively, Luke concentrated his efforts on the next table. Although the patrons were all concealed by shadows, Luke could see them through the Force. Two men occupied this booth. That was a good sign. Perhaps it was a crime boss meeting.

He carefully peered into their thoughts and found both men sharing the same fantasy and once again Mara Jade was involved. Luke pulled away from the vision and drew in a deep breath.

"Stang, I hate this," he whispered to himself. He took a couple deep breaths and tried to slow his heart down. He was embarrassed to realize that he now more than a little aroused.

This was pure torture. He had not been with a woman for a long time and this was killing him. He was not only forced to watch his beautiful friend sway to the music in a tantalizing erotic manner, but he was also being subjected to the lewd fantasies of all the men, and a few women, in the audience involving Mara who was now hanging on the stripper pole upside down giving him an excellent view of her full breasts.

He grabbed the napkin under his drink and wiped the sweat from his brow. It felt like the room had become unbearably hot. He was getting more than a little angry over these men and their brutal sexual fantasies. Mara was a special woman…they shouldn't be thinking of her as an object. She was a person…a remarkable, beautiful woman.

But in a way, he couldn't blame anyone for being attracted to Mara Jade. Even the Jedi Master himself fantasized about being with such a wonderful woman.

He would never jeopardize their friendship by telling her this, but almost since the day he had first met her, he had thought that she was quite possibly the most incredible woman he'd ever seen. The fact that she was completely in control of her feminine prowess, as she was demonstrating on the stage even now, made her even more desirable.

Though he'd always found her attractive, his thoughts usually went back to the first time she had taken his breath away. It was the evening she had come to the Jedi academy on Yavin. She'd arrived in a form-fitting silvery flight suit that did not go unnoticed by the other male students. Luke had long since become accustomed to admiring her distantly, but when she removed her helmet and shook out her mane of red hair, he had almost lost the ability to greet her properly. He vaguely remembered stumbling through an introduction then asking Corran to help Mara find a room.

Up on the stage, Mara spun around the pole and, just like that night so long ago, her hair tumbled around her shoulders. Luke took another sip of his drink as he stared at her, his mission completely forgotten. He gazed at her longingly and had his own fantasy. A fantasy where he had done something completely different that day on Yavin IV so long ago….

.

_In his mind's eye, Luke does not send Mara away with Corran. Instead, he excuses himself from the other students and leads her into the Great Temple. She follows him wordlessly to his chambers on the third level and he locks the door behind them. _

_She has come to Yavin under the pretense of studying the Jedi ways, but only he knows the truth – that she has come for him. They stand a meter apart, regarding each other with self-conscious expectation. _

_He approaches her, drinking her in with his eyes. She smiles gently, granting him permission to touch her and their lips meet for the first time. It's just flesh lightly brushing flesh at first, warm breaths tentatively shared. Gradually, she parts her lips, drawing him into a deep, hungry kiss. _

_Years of hidden affections pulse between them as he glides his hands down her back and over the womanly curves that even the flight suit cannot hide. He feels her hands, smaller but with no less intent, begin an exploration of their own. She slides her palms under his tunic and his flesh sparks to life at her touch. _

_Gods, he wants her. The thought consumes him and he is sure that she can hear it, but she steps back, just out of his reach. Reaching for the zip-clasp of her flight suit, she slides it down slowly. The shimmering fabric separates, exposing her milky white skin. She is not wearing anything underneath. _

_He watches as she sheds the suit and stands naked before him. His mouth goes dry and a tightness forms in his throat…she is the most exquisite creature he has ever seen. She stands straight and self-assured, unashamed of her body and fully aware of the effect her offering has on him. _

_He pulls off his tunic and boots then removes his pants. She glances down at him and her mouth parts ever so slightly as she lifts lidded eyes to him, running her tongue lightly along her lips. _

_Taking her face into his hands, he kisses her flushed mouth before moving his hands down her body. Time stands still as he tenderly caresses every centimeter of her smooth skin. She does not resist but is pliant in his arms, leaning into his touch and whispering sultry words of encouragement in his ear. _

_She is driving him wild and all he wants to do is make love to this exquisite woman. _

_Blood pounds in his ears as he guides her to the bed and lowers her onto the soft sheets. Her hair spreads in silky waves over the pillow and he brushes a single red lock with his lips. She murmurs his name…Luke…and the fire in his veins burns even hotter. _

_Luke nibbles on her earlobe and then runs a trail of hot kisses down her neck. She arches her back and moans her pleasure as their bodies finally join._

_She cries out, 'Yes! Please! Oh Luke…'_

_._

"Mara," Luke moaned as he pulled himself out of his musings breathing hard and sexually frustrated beyond human endurance. He pinched the bridge of his nose in embarrassment. He shouldn't torture himself with such thoughts. He made the biggest mistake of his life when he didn't pursue his beautiful friend years ago and after his horrible fiasco with Callista he was sure he was doomed to live a life of a lonely bachelor. Deep down he knew he would never build up the courage to tell her how he felt. He might be fearless on the battlefield, but when it came to the affairs of the heart he was a coward.

He took a long draw of his whiskey as he brought his attention back to reality. The music was still beating a raucous tempo but the patrons around him felt different, as if they were confused and not a little disgruntled. When Luke looked up on the stage, he understood why.

Mara had stopped dancing and was staring straight at him. Her look of shocked disbelief hit him like a cannon to the gut. She mouthed his name, "Luke?"

He knew then that she had seen. He had not shielded his fantasy and she had seen it. If the planet could have opened up and swallowed him, he would gladly have descended into the murky depths to escape the withering stare coming from his friend.

How could he have been so stupid?

And now she knew.

His face burned and he lowered his head, running a trembling hand through his hair.

_She knew._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Mara turned over in bed, untangling herself from twisted sheets and tossing them aside. She couldn't sleep. Again.

Ever since the night that Luke had come to the club she'd been working, her dreams had been plagued with visions of – what? She'd not seen all the details, but Luke had been thinking about her and him doing things in a romantic nature. She had not heard her name as it escaped his lips, but it had been called out loud and clear through the Force.

_Why?_

They'd never been anything more than friends. She had seen him in relationships with plenty of women in the past, some more serious than others, but he'd never made a spectacle of his emotions before. It just wasn't like him.

She had looked for him that night when her shift was over, but Luke had left the club posthaste. In the debriefing the next day, he had avoided her completely and she had not pursued him, sensing his horrified embarrassment even after he'd shielded all other thoughts.

That had been a week ago and she had not seen him since. In a way, she was glad. Even now, she wasn't sure how she felt. Angry? Embarrassed? Flattered?

It hadn't been the first time she'd been subjected to men's fantasies while dancing. Back in the days when she'd posed as a dancer and Imperial courtesan in Palpatine's palace, she'd learned at an early age to disregard the thoughts and emotions of her audience. Though typically unpleasant, she acknowledged them peripherally, like the brush of rough fabric over an abrasion, and continued her job.

That night at the strip club had been particularly intense. She'd allowed the mental images emanating from dark corners to wash over her briefly, long enough to attempt to discern harmful intent from a suspect Black Sun agent, then banished them from her mind to disintegrate in the music.

She would have never known that Luke was there if his thoughts hadn't been so powerful. So…_passionate_.

The visions from his mind tormented her nightly now: blazing blue eyes, sweat-damped blond hair, strong arms holding her close, his tender touch bringing her pleasures she'd never known…

Her breath caught in her chest and she sat straight up. _Damn him._ She didn't get flustered over a man. _Ever._ Certainly not Luke Skywalker.

They were friends. Friends who happened to work exceptionally well together and had connected in the Force even before they'd met, but still just friends. And sure, he was attractive and well-put-together; she had discovered exactly _how_ well-put-together once at the Jedi academy when she'd caught him skinny dipping in a local lake…

"Arrggghh...stop thinking about him," she groaned.

Abandoning sleep, she climbed out of bed and made her way to the refresher where she splashed cold water repeatedly over her face. There was another debriefing this afternoon at NRI headquarters. Perhaps it was time to talk to him and clear the air. Or at least find a reason to be irritated enough at him to forget the kriffing dreams.  
.

.

.  
Luke wasn't there when she arrived in the large conference room, but she felt him enter shortly afterwards. He stood at the back against a wall so that she could not see him unless she turned around in her seat.

"If everybody would please take your seats we will start this briefing," Colonel Staven, the commander of the Internal Security Division of the New Republic Intelligence, announced to the large gathering of law enforcement personnel, intelligence officers and Jedi in attendance. A silence fell over the crowd as everybody found a seat and looked up at the commander expectantly.

"I called this meeting because as of 0200 hours today we finally made a break in this case." The announcement met with a few cheers, but mainly a collective sigh from the group who had been searching so diligently for clues for the last few weeks.

The colonel smiled. "It seems that our discrete offer of an award has loosened some tongues and a young informant came forward last night with the information we have been looking for. The Black Sun is operating out of the _Naughty Imperial_ nightclub in sector twenty-six." The officer paused for a moment, making sure he had everybody's attention, then continued.

"This information couldn't have come to us at a better time because the informant claims that the weapons shipment will be coming in tomorrow night. I sent a couple of our deep operatives to the club to try to verify the information and they have informed me there is an increased security presence, plus at least one Black Sun operative at the location. The buy is supposed to go down at 2300 hours. We will have undercover agents covering the entire city grid area surrounding the club to prevent escape. I intend to send in an undercover team two hours prior to the buy to reconnoiter the main floor and to act as an early warning system of movement inside the facility. At 2310 hours I will send in my breaching team to storm the building and make the arrests."

The colonel nodded to his aide. A young lieutenant, who didn't look old enough to be wearing a uniform, began handing out datachips to the crowd.

"These chips have the details of the mission plan and the old blueprints of the building. It will be _'couples'_ night at the club, so, unless there is an objection, I would like to send Master Skywalker and Mara Jade in as our undercover reconnoiter team." The colonel looked up expectantly at Mara and Luke.

Mara tensed. This would be awkward going undercover as a romantic couple… holding his hand, perhaps kissing.

"I don't think that is a good idea," Luke spoke up, interrupting Mara's thoughts. "I think it would be best if I went in with a female NRI officer and Mara stayed outside with the command team."

Mara whirled around. "And why is that, Skywalker?" Regardless of what had happened in that club last week, this was business. And she did not back down from a challenge.

Luke glanced at Mara uncomfortably, not looking her in the eyes. "I think it would be best to not have all our Jedi resources in the same location. I am just being practical. If Black Sun jams communications, we still could communicate with each other through the Force. We would have a way to get a SITREP back to command if there were any problems."

Mara's eyes narrowed. That explanation sounded good… in fact it sounded rehearsed, as if he had come prepared with an excuse to avoid her on this mission. And there was no denying that he was avoiding her. Luke barriers were up tight, but Mara could still sense his disingenuousness.

"Jedi Jade," Colonel Staven said. "Do you have any objections to remaining with me at the command post? We will be located in a warehouse across the street."

Mara tore her eyes away from Luke and turned back to the division chief. "No," she said evenly. "I have no objections."

The colonel nodded his head. "Good, I will give you all time to review the report, brief your teams and rehearse. We will meet back here tomorrow at 1800 hours for a final mission briefing. Dismissed."

Everybody stood and started milling through the aisle, most heading for the doorway. Mara quickly stood and moved to the back of the room to talk to Skywalker, but he was already gone.

She pushed her way through the crowd and into the corridor. Glancing down the hallway, she spotted Luke heading toward the lift.

Luke was almost to the lift doors when she caught up with him. "Hey!" she called out.

He stopped, his shoulders visibly tensing, and turned to face her. "Mara," he said simply.

"You got a minute?"

"Sure," he answered, avoiding eye contact.

Mara spotted an empty conference room and motioned him toward it. He followed her but stayed close to the door even after it was shut.

"Any particular reason why you don't want to work with me? The _real_ reason." Mara challenged, not sure what else to say.

Luke answered quietly, "I think you know why."

"Right." She studied him carefully. "And you don't have anything to say to me about it?" If she could goad him into an argument, she could think about _that_ tonight instead of how good he looked in those snug, black pants.

Sighing heavily, he met her gaze squarely for the first time. "I'm sorry."

Mara blinked. "You're sorry? That's it?" Damn, he was hard to fight with.

"What else do you want me to say, Mara?"

She wanted him to say something infuriating so she'd have a reason to get mad and ignore those brilliant blue eyes. "Sorry for what? That you got caught having sexual fantasies about me?"

"I didn't break any laws," he retorted. "But I am sorry-" he swallowed and his voice softened. "I am sorry if I, in any way, humiliated you."

_Humiliated?_ Mara was briefly taken aback. From what she'd seen, she had been anything but humiliated by him. Quite the opposite, in fact.

She shook her head. "No."

Silence settled awkwardly between them until Luke reached for the control panel to the door. "Well, if we're done then-"

"Why me?" she asked quickly before she could lose her nerve. "Or is it your custom to fantasize about every scantily-clad dancer you see?"

Luke paused in the doorway, glancing hesitantly over his shoulder. He opened his mouth as it to speak and then closed it again. Even through his shields, she could tell he was weighing his words carefully. "No," he finally answered. "Just you."

Then he left, leaving Mara more confused than ever.  
.

.

.

Dreams assailed her again that night, but not from anything Luke had imagined. Instead, her dreams took her back to a recent encounter they'd had aboard the _Starry Ice…_

_She stands braced against the airlock bulkhead as his body flies toward her from open space. As he neared she moved out to attempt to catch her zero-gravity human missile. 'Welcome aboard', she says waking him out of his trance. She catches him with her hands and the Force and falls backward, grunting under his weight. _

_He smiles down at her and the look in his eyes makes her suddenly and acutely aware of his knees straddling her and his arms pinning her wrists to the floor. _

_"So, you want to get off me or were you just getting comfortable?" _

_"Actually," he murmurs, lowering his hips onto hers. "I think I could get very comfortable like this." _

_Without another word, he leans down and kisses her. His advance is bold and unchaste and she parts her lips to allow him full access. She feels his maleness pressed against her and her body responds, growing warm. She rocks her hips against him, experimentally, to increase the friction. He moans, whispering into her ear, I want you. _

_"Luke!" Her senses explode with desire. "Take me!" she gasps..._

"Ahh!" Mara awoke with a start, panting up at the ceiling of her bedroom. The details of the dream were already fading but she found her hands trembling in excitement and her heart pounding with intense arousal.

_Damn him... _  
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.

.  
_Luke! Take me!_

Across the city, Luke was jolted from sleep, flooded with sensations of arousal and desire from…

He sat up, looking out the window. "Mara?"


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3 **_

Luke arrived at the briefing room early hoping for a chance to talk to Mara alone. Since their conversation yesterday, Luke had thought a lot about Mara's question to him, 'Why her?'

It was such a simple question, but it dredged up a tangle of emotions that took Luke most of the day to unravel. After much reflection, he finally came to the realization that he had wanted more than friendship with the fiery redhead for a long time. Of course, he had carefully repressed these feelings, knowing Mara would never consider such a proposal. But last night that notion was shaken, when he felt….

'What was it that woke me up last night?' Luke wondered.

He wasn't sure if he had sensed an erotic dream or something… more, something much more projected through the Force, but he was sure it had emanated from Mara Jade. For the first time since the incident in the club, Luke was hopeful that he could not only repair their friendship, but perhaps something more could come out of the situation.

He really needed to talk to her.

Unfortunately, Mara was nowhere to be found prior to the briefing. Luke was beginning to think she was not going to show, when she finally slipped into the conference room at the very last second. He started to stand, intending to go talk to her, when Colonel Staven called the meeting to order.

Luke dropped back into his seat and sighed deeply, running his hand over his face before finally squeezing the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Master Skywalker, are you all right?" whispered Rika Arlos, a young female NRI agent sitting next to him.

"Yes, I'm fine, Rika," Luke said softly as he glanced over to the buxom, red Twi'lek undercover operative that had been assigned to assist him in reconnoitering the _Naughty Imperial_ strip club that night.

"Are you doing one of those Jedi things?" she whispered in awe. "Like the mind probe I read about in the reports." She hesitated for a moment and continued. "Would a person know if they were probed by a Jedi?"

Luke glanced sharply at the young lady. He wasn't sure if she was serious or was making a flirtatious sexual innuendo.

"I… uhh…was just thinking," Luke replied avoiding the term 'probe' completely.

Luke turned his gaze back to Colonel Staven at the front of the room, but his thoughts remained on his new partner. Rika Arlos came highly recommend for this mission and was obviously a very intelligent, competent and dedicated agent, but to Luke's dismay she was also what Luke called a Jedi groupie. Well, that might not be a fair description; she was more like a Luke Skywalker groupie.

From the moment she'd been introduced to him, he'd been bombarded with numerous questions about his time in the Rebellion, his Jedi training and anything else involving his life. Luke wasn't sure why she even bothered asking him questions since she apparently knew everything about Luke right down to the most insignificant minutiae - things that he had forgotten about years ago. Luke wouldn't be surprised if she was one of those fans who wrote fictional stories about him or belonged to one of those pervasive Jedi holonet fansites like the '_Skywalker Admiration Society'_.

Luke shifted in his seat uncomfortably, the leather pants and tunic of his smuggler disguise were hot and he was beginning to sweat in the warm conference room.

He looked over to Rika who was also dressed as a smuggler. She didn't look too uncomfortable in her outfit, but, of course, there wasn't much of it to start with. Her attire consisted of a sleeveless, short cut tunic over a leather micro-skirt, knee-high boots and a small hold out blaster strapped to her wrist. Over her tunic she wore some sort of form fitting black armor, which Luke was sure didn't serve any functional purpose other than acting as a bizarre plexisteel push-up bra. It made her look like some sort of Mandalorian stripper.

Rika noticed Luke appraising her disguise and gave the Jedi a broad smile. Luke coughed nervously and looked away, causing Rika's smile to falter.

Mercifully, the briefing was short. When it came to a close, Luke got up and moved to where Mara had been sitting, but she had already left the conference room via a side exit, never once looking in his direction.

Luke sighed.

He really needed to talk to her.

* * *

On the speeder ride down to the _Naughty Imperial_ Luke was pleasantly surprised in the change in Rika's demeanor. Once the mission started she was all business and he could see why she was recommended for this operation. She did checks on her weapon, comm equipment and reminded him of the location of the various entrance and exits of the establishment. She discussed where should sit in the room for optimum observation and security.

Upon arrival, they both paused at the entrance to do one last comm check and to adjust their weapons. Luke felt naked without his lightsaber. He had left it back at NRI headquarters in case there was a security search of the patrons. After taking the time to dye his hair, growing a weeks forth of facial hair and even taking pills to darken his skin slightly, he didn't need the presence of a Jedi weapon jeopardizing his cover.

He turned to Rika and nodded. "You ready?"

"Ready Biggus," she said using his undercover name he had chosen. It was a variation of the name Biggs in honor of his friend Biggs Darklighter who died during the battle of Yavin.

Luke pushed open the heavy metal doors of the establishment and swaggered in. He almost jumped when Rika sidled up next to him and snaked an arm around his waist before dropping a hand into his back pocket.

He looked over to his partner, giving her a questioning look.

"We are supposed to be lovers, right?" she said almost apologetically, but Luke could feel her amusement through the Force.

"Just don't get too carried away," he whispered as he put his arm around her waist and led her down the stairs to the main floor.

"Security on the catwalk," Rika whispered. Luke risked a quick glance up and counted five armed guards on the upper floor walkway. "Two Gamorreans guarding the entrance to the back rooms."

Luke knew that she was not only talking to him, but was communicating to the headquarters via a comlink built into an ornate necklace secured around her neck.

Luke and Rika sat at a small metal table near the left rear of the business where they would be able to observe the entire room and the entrance and exits.

Rika leaned over to Luke and whispered in his ear while disguising her actions as a romantic overture. "I located two Black Sun players, center front row table, near the stage."

A waiter droid ambled over to their table and they ordered a couple of drinks. Luke and Rika kept their attention keenly focused on the coming and goings in the club as they chatted amiably about inconsequential matters. When they observed suspicious movement of the guards or Black Sun operatives they quietly reported their findings the command post.

After about an hour, Luke felt a shift in the Force as somebody in the club suddenly focused their attention onto them. At first Luke felt curiosity, then shock and anger.

"Rika," Luke said softly. "I think we have been recognized." As casually as possible, he tossed a couple credit chips on the heavy table and rose to leave. "Let's get out of here."

Luke sensed a sudden surge of danger directed toward him from various directions. He glanced up and saw a couple of the guards holding comlinks to their ears; others were searching the crowd until their eyes locked on Luke.

"Let's get out of here now," Luke said as he grabbed his partner's arm and proceeded to pull her toward the back exit, but it was too late. A blaster bolt tore a hole in the chair Luke just vacated. Panic broke out in the club as people scrambled toward the exits. Luke had hoped that they could escape in all the confusion, but as a dozen blasterbolts headed in their direction he realized his error.

Without his lightsaber to deflect the shots, the only other option was to avoid being hit. Luke ran and lunged on top of Rika forcing her to the floor, his body shielding her from danger. Once on the ground, a brilliant flash appeared before his eyes as an intense pain surged through his head. Luke's vision swam for a moment and then blackness began to envelop his sight until everything went dark.

* * *

At the command post outside, Mara clutched her head as a searing phantom pain suddenly assaulted her. "Luke's in trouble," she gasped, recognizing the source of distress immediately.

"Skywalker, Arlos!" Colonel Staven shouted over the Comm. "Respond." Only static responded. "Stang!" he swore, realizing their transmissions had been jammed. He turned toward the Communications officer, "Use the landline backup to initiate the attack."

The young officer acknowledged the commander's order with a nod as he carried out the command. Staven turned his attention to Mara who had grabbed a first aid kit off the wall and was shoving bacta patches and bandages in her pants cargo pockets. "Jade, I need to know what is going on. Can you get anything from Luke?" Mara turned a solemn face toward the commander. "Luke is down. He's not dead, but he's hurt. I'm going in to get him." She didn't wait for a reply as she rushed from the room.

She arrived at the nightclub just as the breaching team burst in and began returning fire. It was like walking into a war zone and she entered the club with her lightsaber blazing. Patrons were screaming and desperately trying to get out of the crossfire but the thick smoke and low lighting made navigating though the madness difficult.

As Mara deflected blasterbolts with her saber she reached out with the Force and tried to find Luke. She located his presence about fifteen meters away. He was lying on the floor behind an overturned metal table. Luke's Twi'lek's partner was ducked down behind the table, popping up occasionally to return fire.

Mara sprinted over to their location and dove down behind the makeshift barricade.

The Twi'lek whipped around, training a blaster on Mara before she realized who she was and turned her attention back to the real enemy. "I'm glad you're here," she said evenly as she shot and hit a guard on the upper level causing him to tumble to the floor below. "Luke took a grazing shot to the head. I don't think it is life threatening, but he does need medical attention. I can't return fire and carry him out of here without getting us both killed," Rika said gravely, dodging a blaster bolt.

Mara looked around. She could move Luke using the Force, but a sprint to the back exit didn't look like a viable option. Mara spotted a doorway a few yards to her left. She had studied the blueprints of the building and knew those doors led to secluded 'dance' rooms, where wealthy patrons could pay for private entertainment. Mara deactivated her saber and connected it to her belt before grabbing Luke under his arms. "I'm going for those doors. Cover me!" Mara told the Twi'lek. Rika nodded and then popped up from behind the table, blaster on full auto, laying down an impressive burst of suppressive fire.

Mara ran backwards toward the doors dragging the unconscious Jedi on the ground. She burst through the entranceway without getting shot and immediately slammed the doors closed behind them. She then gently lowered Luke's head to the ground as she checked out the first available room down the hallway. Flicking on the lights, it illuminated a small chamber with various chairs, couches and a small daybed hugging the far walls. The floor was littered with various cushions and liquor bottles, indicating the previous occupants had made a quick exit. Once she was certain the room was clear, she grabbed Luke and dragged him inside and locked the door.

This was the first time she'd gotten a good look at her friend. "Oh Luke," Mara sighed. "Why am I always pulling your butt out of trouble?" She rifled through her pockets and pulled out a couple of bacta patches.

Luke had a nasty blaster burn on his forehead. It didn't look too serious, but Mara knew that any blasterbolt to the head could cause internal damage to the brain that wouldn't necessarily be obvious from the outside. She cleaned the wound and placed a bacta patch over his forehead.

"This wouldn't have happened if I had been here with you, Skywalker!" Mara snapped at him, realizing only afterwards that she was more worried than angry.

Luke's eye's fluttered for a moment and then slowly opened, blinking at the lights above. "Rika?" he asked groggily.

"It's me, Luke."

"Mara." Luke tried to raise his head, but grimaced in pain and dropped it back down to the floor. "Thanks for saving me," he said to his friend.

She placed another bacta patch over a bruise on his temple. "Well, I certainly wasn't going to sit around the command post while you were being shot up by Black Sun agents," she said simply.

Luke gave her a weak smile. "No, thanks for saving me from my partner."

Mara cocked her head to the side and gave him a questioning look.

Luke's grin broadened a little more but his speech was slurred. "She's a Jedi fangirl. Who knows what she would have done with my unconscious body."

Mara smiled, wiping blood from his temple. "You can't be too bad off if you're worried about being accosted by your Twi'lek partner. Or was that your plan all along and I've foiled it by coming to your rescue?"

"I thought about it," he quipped, wincing as he shifted to a more comfortable position. "But then I decided I'd rather be accosted by a former assassin who could kill me with her bare hands."

"Kinky," she snorted. "You have quite a fantasy life about former assassins."

Luke's eyes popped open and she caught his look of hurt and embarrassment before he turned his back to her with some effort. "I told you I was sorry about that," he said quietly.

Shavit! Mara cursed herself, regretting the jab as soon as she'd said it. He'd been trying to make light of the situation and now she'd made him more uncomfortable than he already was. Nice going, Jade.

Reaching for a diversion, Mara picked up her comlink but it was still dead and she switched it off. "My comm's jammed," she said in what she hoped was a back-to-business tone. "Does yours work?"

Luke removed his smoking earpiece and charred comlink and held them out to her. "I doubt it," he answered wryly.

Mara settled on the floor beside him. "Then I guess we wait here." She was about to ask if he wanted a pain suppressant from the med pack when the room suddenly went dark. The generators and music also grew quiet so that the only sounds coming from the club now were muffled shouts and rounds of blaster fire.

"I think I need a short healing trance." Luke's voice sounded stronger in the dark but his words were still somewhat garbled.

"Good idea," she answered. Sensing his pain as he repositioned, she reached out awkwardly in the dark to help him shift off of his injured side. "I'll stay and protect your unconscious body from any Jedi fangirls."

"You're my hero…" Luke mumbled, drifting off to sleep.

Mara felt him enter the trance but instead of moving to a more comfortable spot on one of the chairs, she stayed beside him, her hand lingering on his. Visions of the previous night flashed through her mind: his hands on her body, stripping, caressing…her hands touching, pleasuring, dreaming of his…

Opening her eyes, she shook the images away. What the hell was she doing? This was Skywalker, for Sith's sake. He was her teacher and comrade and consistent source of irritation.

Her fingers met the hem of his sleeve and she brushed them lightly against the warmth of his skin. He was also one of the few men in the galaxy who treated her with nothing but utmost respect and he was the one man she wanted most at her side in battle.

In battle and other places, perhaps?

She sighed, wiping a sweaty palm across her face. "Dammit, Luke," she whispered. "When this is all over, we should talk."

The slow, steady cadence of his breathing was the only response. In the distance, the sounds of the firefight continued with no sign of slowing any time soon. They could be here a while.

Crawling over to the nearest chair, Mara pulled off one of the large cushions she had seen earlier and carefully tucked it under Luke's head before lying down beside him to wait.

* * *

_Don't stop. _

_Is this what you want? _

_I do. Don't stop. Touch me again. _

_Like this? _

_Oh yes! Please don't stop. Please… _

Luke opened his eyes to total darkness as consciousness slowly returned. Where was he? The strip club, he remembered—a backroom in the strip club. He'd taken a blow to the head and Mara had pulled him to safety.

He realized that he was lying on his side with Mara in his arms. Her back was pressed against him and he was horrified to realize his hands had been roaming over her warm luscious body.

_Please don't stop. Please… _

He had been dreaming. Feeling his face grow hot, he could only hope that she had also gone into a meditative trance or fell asleep and hadn't noticed what he had been doing. Cautiously, he withdrew his hands and started to scoot away from her still form.

"Don't-"

"I'm sorry," he murmured through dry lips. "I must have been dreaming."

"Don't stop," she whispered, planting her back firmly against his chest. "Keep dreaming."

"Mara?"

"It's a wonderful dream," she said softly. "Don't stop…"

His breath arrested in his lungs. Was Mara talking in her sleep? Or was she actually asking him to continue holding her, caressing her? He tentatively leaned forward and wrapped his arms gently around her.

"Mara? Are you awake or dreaming?" he asked. This was a totally unexpected development and he wanted to make sure that holding her like this was what she actually wanted.

There was a long pause before she spoke. "I'm awake."

"I wish I could see you, to make sure that's true," he whispered while holding her warm body against his.

"I like it in the dark," she said quietly. "It makes it easier to believe this is a dream."

He let out an exasperated breath. "Mara, don't talk riddles to me."

She sighed. "I guess…in the dark I don't have to address the reality of the situation. I don't have to face up to the fact that when we leave this room we'll go back to our awkward friendship. That is if we can salvage our friendship. In the last week so much has changed between us and it is hard for me to comprehend."

He leaned his head against hers. "I know what you mean. This is a scary development." He paused for a moment. "But it doesn't have to be. Obviously we are both attracted to each other…interested in each other."

Mara stiffened slightly in his arms. "How do you know that?"

"I sensed your dream last night," he whispered. "And…you did just ask me to continue fondling you." Luke risked a soft chuckle, hoping to break the tension.

"Oh," was all she said with obvious embarrassment in her voice.

"Don't be ashamed about your dream. I have the same dreams about you. Mara, I feel the same way," Luke said softly in the blackened room.

He could hear her soft breathing in the dark. "How long have you felt that way?"

Luke hesitated. "I was always attracted to you, but when you were on Yavin IV…I could really feel your pull."

Mara was silent for a long moment. "You never paid much attention to me while I was there."

Luke rested his head on her shoulder and sighed. "You were my student…I felt like it would be improper…"

"Oh," Mara whispered sounding disappointed.

"Mara, how long have you felt this way about me?"

He could feel her reluctance to answer, but finally she did. "Since you gave me your lightsaber on Coruscant."

Despite the total darkness Luke's eyes went wide. "Really?"

"Yes," she admitted. "For some reason I thought it meant something else." She turned in his arms to face him, her lips brushing slightly against his as she did. "I thought it meant much more."

"The Force was guiding me when I gave you the saber…maybe it was also leading me to you." He took a deep breath and let it out. "I should have kissed you that night."

"You should have," he heard her say.

"I was afraid you would toss me off the rooftop we were standing on," he admitted.

He couldn't see her, but he sensed her smile. "I thought Jedi could levitate."

He laughed at her remark. "I'll kiss you now…if you'll let me."

"I'll let you," she said breathlessly.

He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. It started tentatively, softly, but soon the kisses became more amorous with desire.

"Oh Mara," Luke moaned. "If this is a dream, I don't want to wake up."

He felt her smile against his lips before she pulled away for a breath. "Maybe tonight we can make some of our dreams come true."

* * *

An hour later when fighting had finally stopped they rejoined the NRI team. Luke was ordered to report to the medical center but caught up with Mara before she boarded the speeder to return for debriefing.

"Hey!"

She turned around, keeping her face carefully neutral, though her mussed hair and flushed cheeks would have given any observant bystander pause. "Hey yourself."

He stepped close so that no one else would hear and resisted the urge to reach out and touch her. "I was wondering, if you're not busy, if you'd have dinner with me tomorrow night."

"I'd like that," she answered, green eyes flashing in a knowing glance.

His cheeks grew warm and he cleared his throat, looking around nervously. "And then we could go back to my apartment, or your apartment, and have a drink…and maybe continue what we started today…or whatever _you'd_ like."

Mara leaned forward, pretending to inspect his head wound. Whatever _you'd_ like," she whispered her breath on his ear sending chills up his spine.

A broad smile stretched across Luke's face, but it quickly fell as a disturbing thought struck him.

"Mara," he said hesitantly. "This is the start of something, isn't it? I'm not like one of those men in the club. I'm not looking for a one night stand. I want a relationship." Luke waited nervously for her response.

Mara grinned. "I know, Luke. You are nothing like those men. You're one-of-a-kind… and I think this is the start of something special," she answered and then gave him a mischievous look. "I believe we are about to break a lot of Jedi fangirl hearts."

~The End~


End file.
